SUMMARY:
Most dental health experts agree that, in addition to poor oral care, tooth decay and tobacco use, one of the primary causes of bad breath is a lack of moisture in the mouth. Fortunately, this problem can be fixed with little more than a glass of water, a toothbrush and a specialty breath freshening rinse.

Posted: June 15, 2011

Most dental health experts agree that, in addition to poor oral care, tooth decay and tobacco use, one of the primary causes of bad breath is a lack of moisture in the mouth. Fortunately, this problem can be fixed with little more than a glass of water, a toothbrush and a specialty breath freshening rinse.

Consider a study lately conducted by a team of Belgian researchers at the Catholic University of Leuven. They found that among 2,000 patients treated in a halitosis clinic, 43 percent had a coated tongue upon admission. The white, sticky coating on the back of your tongue is a bacterial colony, one that extends itself every time your mouth gets dry.

Likewise, the group found that 2.5 percent of participants suffered from diagnosable xerostomia, a condition in which the salivary glands don't make enough moisture to keep the tongue and palate wet.

As your mouth dries out, halitosis can gradually build. Rinsing with an oral care probiotics product may moisten your mouth and attack odor-causing microbes in one fell swoop. Even drinking a glass of water can temporarily tide you over.

Where's the proof that moisture mutes halitosis? According to ABC News, it's in babies, who salivate like crazy and rarely suffer from oral odor.